Blooming Bluster
by Visceria
Summary: A Lily Evans and James Potter story of love, hate, adventure and the rising Evil... ((based off of books 1-5))


The Gryffindor Chaser, James Potter, yawned in the late afternoon. He scratched his head, ruffling his already messy mop of jet-black hair. His hazel eyes began to droop with boredom, as the dull sun, showing it's face from the window, reflected off of his fine rimmed glasses. He was sitting in his History of Magic lesson, listening to the Professor's dead voice drawl on and on over things that didn't seem half interesting. He tried thinking of Quidditch to keep him awake for the rest of the hour.   
  
Thinking of Quidditch gave him an almost wistful look in his eyes. He couldn't wait until this evening! After a feast of turkey, mashed potato, pudding and other mouth-watering foods, he'd get to soar in the sky, practicing for the upcoming Quidditch game - Gryffindor VS. Ravenclaw. It had always felt like total freedom and bliss riding on his broomstick. Not to mention the adrenaline rush he got from beating the other team and hearing the applause from the gigantic crowd below, cheering his goal that he made for his house and Madame Hooch's shrill whistle sounding from the pitch.   
  
James shook his head, trying very hard to concentrate. Sirius Black, also referred to as "Padfoot" by the other three Marauders, was snoozing behind his large leather-bound History book, a small amount of drool spilling out from his partially open mouth. James grinned, trying not to attract too much attention.   
  
He prodded Sirius, and Sirius in return mumbled incoherently about "chocolate biscuits" or something of the sort. James snorted, and apparently none too quietly. Professor Binns, the misty ghost form of his formerly living self, peered up from the lesson plans at the two boys, eyeing them oddly with tired, purple ringed eyes. "Mister Potter...," he started, lazily drawing out the words. "Is there something... funny... about the way that Quong Po discovered the uses of the Liondragon's powdered eggs?" He looked at them with brief curiosity.   
  
James quickly snapped to attention, shaking his head, his lopsided grin still plastered on to his handsome face. "No, Professor," he replied, briskly. "I was just saying to my partner, Sirius, how Mister Po was quite the genius! Though, it's odd that he liked to sleep too often that someone would have to shout in his ears, 'WAKE UP'." James had put a rather large emphasis on the words 'wake up', nudging Sirius with force, willing him with his mind to play along, no matter if he was confused as to what was happening.   
  
Come to think of it, that was the lamest excuse James the infamous Marauder had come up with yet. Professor Binns, fortunately, was not a perceptive man, and often missed what many other Professors' would simply roll their eyes at and assign a detention. "Please then... keep such... laughing matters for after class," he said lazily. "I dare say, Mister Potter... that your bit of information is..." he sighed deeply for no apparent reason, "false... let us continue now."   
  
The few students who had perked up to listen to James' well-known mischievous ways in class had now slumped back into their hunched backed positions, seeing as how nothing too exciting had happened. As if on cue, Sirius Black groggily awoke, wiping away his small puddle of clear drool, giving his friend a hard glare but not too menacing. James rolled his eyes and shrugged, mouthing, 'You were asleep!'. Sirius lowly whispered, "One: That's the point. Two: That hurt... save it for Snivelly, will you?"   
  
~*~*~  
  
Shuffling down the long and full of bustling students corridors' that afternoon was rather hard to do. James swept around various people, though Sirius, with a slightly less skinny build, accidentally knocked over a petite second year Ravenclaw who blushed as he helped her up nonchalantly, catching up with James.   
  
"Wonder where Moony is..." mumbled James, carefully ducking his head as Peeves cackled on by, throwing fresh eggs at random, and rather unfortunate, students. Sirius grinned as a Slytherin did for fact get hit. "Yes... dear shame he is missing all this Slytherin sliming! Wormtail as well. Wonder where that git is anyhow..." "I dunno. Maybe he--"   
  
Whatever James had intended on saying, he was now sorely cut off. Of all the people the he would crash into and cause the both of them to fall to the ground with scattered books and bags, it was one Lily Evans. Miss Evans had fair peach skin with loose dark red curls down to her shoulder and stunning toad green eyes that were almond shaped. Quite unique and beautiful (in James' opinion). Her hair was tied up in a pony-tail holder, not down for once.   
  
James grinned. 'What luck...' he thought. "All right there, Evans?" he asked, jumping to his feet, and picking up some of her leather bound books. He shifted the pile into his left arm, offering her his hand. She rolled her pretty eyes, scowling, getting up herself. "I don't need help from people who desperately need it themselves, thanks," she replied shortly.   
  
If there ever was a Pandora's Box, Lily Evans took the cake and ate it as well with being nothing short of Hell when provoked by James Potter. She happened to loath him ("You're just a shallow, good-for-nothing, pig-headed, cocky waste of space that has nothing else but his ego to stroke!" she had told him rather cruelly one day). Well, perhaps she didn't loath him. It was slightly lighter than that. Slightly being the key-word. She did for fact, dislike people who thought of themselves as above everyone else. James Potter surely thought that.   
  
Whenever she saw him, he'd be sauntering around, hexing anyone within a meter of himself, flashing that overly arrogant toothy grin of his at her. Or, he'd run his hand through his wind-swept hair, as if trying quite hard to make it appear so. He sickened her. He was all show in her mind. But, unbeknownst to Lily, James seldom acted in such a manner, with the exception of being around her. That's when he'd act like a love struck fool.   
  
A small little pout graced James' features. "You wound me so, Evans," he said jokingly. She reached out her arms after smoothing down her gray uniform skirt (Sirius had snickered, causing her cheeks to tint a bit pink) and raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. "Well?" she asked impatiently as he stood there staring at her.   
  
Sirius smirked hugely. "Don't worry about Prongs here, Mrs. Potter," he teased, knowing he'd get a rise out of her (which he loved to do). "Your husband is just awe-struck by the way you stumble at his feet!" If possible, Lily's scowl deepened, her almond eyes narrowing slightly. She bit her small, pink lips as if to hold back an unnecessary remark. "Black, shut it," she said coldly, turning her icy gaze to James who had seemingly come out of his hypnotic-like state and was smiling like mad, an odd glint to his hazel gold eyes. "Potter, I will NOT hesitate to personally wipe that geeky grin off of your smutty little face if you do not hand. me. my. books. NOW." James, rather amused, raised a thick deep black eyebrow trade mark to his family. "Really? How do you mean?" He smiled but then looked a bit eager, slipping into his 'hopeful' personality as to not upset Lily further with taunts and teases.   
  
"I'll walk with you to class... carry your books?" he asked, pushing his stylish glasses up the bridge of his slightly long nose. The Spring Ball was fast approaching and James had intended to ask Lily to go with him. It would require a miracle and so far, he was hoping dearly for one. Sighing, Lily blew her lightly curled bangs out of her face, looking fed up. "No, Potter. Just-- no. Give me my books, and let me alone. I don't feel like talking to you and your blown up head any longer."   
  
Sirius drew back in a hiss as she maneuvered around the rejected James and observing Sirius, walking off into the sea of people. "Oooh... yet again, he is shot down! Will his ego survive this blow?" asked Sirius mockingly to an imaginary crowd. James, dejectedly rolled his eyes. "Just shove it, Padfoot..." he said irritated. "What's crawled up your arse, mate?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow, his pale blue eyes slowly emitting a hint of curiosity. "Don't you just bounce back like always? So what if she didn't let you hold her books like a little lap dog. Big deal!"   
  
James just shook his scraggly mop-top. "Nah... it's not that, Padfoot. I wanted to ask to her to the Ball -- how can I if I can't even get her to WALK near me? Tell me that?" Sirius stroked his clef chin for a moment, and then whilst itching his artfully untidy black hair, he suggested rather bluntly, "Blackmail or the sort?" "No, not this time..." mumbled James, remembering his failed attempt to do so with Snape involved. The pair's other friend, Remus Lupin, later on, after hearing about how the event was used to get Lily to go on a date with James, had rolled his eyes and scolded the two saying that, "You can BLACKMAIL a girl to go out with you! Whatever happened to the old fashioned: 'You fancy me, I fancy you' bit?"   
  
"Well mate," said Sirius with a sigh, tugging James' uniform shirt, "The Marauders' will figure something out: if we can't do it, then any other git bloody well can't!" James grimly smiled and nodded, bending down to pick up his own abandoned books and started to follow Sirius, soon taking lead once more, to their next class. What a day. Hopefully Quidditch practice would be a lot better than anything that had happened so far.   
  
~*~*~  
  
Lily opened the squeaky old oak door to the Transfiguration room. All students were busily chatting to friends and neighbors. She let loose a bit her yellow and scarlet uniform tie, as the room was quite hot and stuffy, wreaking of rotted wood. For castle it was quite hot...   
  
"Oy! Lily! Lily! Over here!" called a high pitched voice of Edwina Wunderlock, one of Lily's many friends. Lily herself was quite popular (how could she not be? She was very bright and well liked by teachers yet nice and kind to mostly everyone, winning favour on her classmates' behalf) and had her own respective group of bubbly yet very kind and unique friends.   
  
Edwina had straight, long brown hair with a dark tan. She spoke with a bit of an accent that she had gained from New Mexico but was quickly picking up a well-to-do British accent of London. She, like Lily, had very faint freckles dancing across her face, her large chocolate eyes above them perfectly.   
  
Lily happily with a smile, walked over, setting her small bag on her desk with her stack of books, sitting down at the large oak desk, turning to face her newly gained friend. "What's going on?" she asked, absentmindedly twirling a lock of her thick deep red curls (it had become a habit of hers). "Well, I just thought I'd tell you that I am crushing--- I mean, I fancy this one boy... but he's a sixth year! But he smiled at me at dinner yesterday..." Edwina babbled a bit thoughtfully.   
  
Lily for one was use to such woes. She herself didn't dote upon being overly "girlish" but did enjoy a bit of gossip here and there as well as parties, make-up and sometimes sighing over handsome music artists that she alone knew from her Muggle decent and background. But, she also found there was more to life that such things. She did in fact enjoy books, dancing, and intellectual talks as well.   
  
She barely heard Edwina's rambles until: "... but then again, I think James Potter would be a nice boy... he's very bright and he's the Gryffindor Chaser!" Lily snapped abruptly out of her own world as she snorted, rolling her eyes. "You wouldn't want such a prat as that. I swear I never have seen such a boy..." Edwina raised her eyebrows, a small smile gracing her parted lips. "Oh, is that so?" she questioned as if she knew something that Lily did not. "Yes, it is so!" protested Lily, angrily. "He claims to fancy me but you know it is most likely because I'm one of the select few who couldn't give a rat's arse about his hide if you paid me millions of pounds to do so."   
  
Edwina, being pure-blooded, would not have known what 'pounds' were had she never took the Muggle Studies class. It sure helped her understand some of her friends a little better. No matter how close you could get, there was always a slight barrier between the Magic and Muggle worlds.   
  
"I think that you--" started Edwina.   
  
"Don't even start." stated Lily dryly as the Professor walked in stiffly with her nose up in the air.   
  
Professor McGonagall, with her tight bun of graying black hair along with her bony face and long flowing emerald green cloak, stood facing all her students with a thoroughly annoyed expression upon her face. As she peered through her small little glasses that were on a dainty chain around her neck, her long nails rapped upon the smooth wooden desk she owned.   
  
"Does a Mister Lupin know anything about a certain 'message' written in the boy's lavatory?" she asked testily, looking around like a hawk for the mentioned. A scrawny and peaky looking boy with thin, wispy sandy blonde hair and warm brown eyes, slowly got to his feet at his desk's side. "Erumm... message, Professor?" he asked, not good at all at keeping from looking too guilty. True, James and Sirius were a bit out of control sometimes...   
  
Lily whirled around like the rest of the curious heads, and looked at him intently for a minute, then recognizing him. He was a Prefect for Gryffindor but also one of James Potter's friends. She glared at nothing in particular at that moment, seemingly at the Lupin boy's head, thinking just one thought: Hang that wretched Potter. Hang and leave him.   
  
((Kind of a short chapter, ne? Well, hope it is all right. ^^; I'm new at this whole fanfiction thing. Heh. All comments and types of reveiws accepted (even flames)!)) 


End file.
